


talk is cheap

by rangerhitomi



Category: Yu-Gi-Oh! Zexal
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Gems, M/M, Non-Explicit, Touching, energy transfer
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-07
Updated: 2015-05-07
Packaged: 2018-03-29 10:13:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,112
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3892519
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/rangerhitomi/pseuds/rangerhitomi
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Shark realizes that being a Barian means that clawed hands, no mouth and an apparent lack of reproductive features severely limits his options as far as doing the dirty with Yuma.</p>
            </blockquote>





	talk is cheap

**Author's Note:**

> Part of an old fandom fanworkathon

Shark just wants to touch Yuma, to let him know that things are okay, that he won’t and  _can’t_  hurt him, that he still cares,  _that he’s still Ryoga Kamishiro_ somewhere under his grotesque new exterior-

-but he can’t.

He’s not sure if it’s his imagination or if it’s really the case, but the way Yuma looks at him, the sadness and fear in his eyes when he looks at Shark now, instead of the soft admiration or concern or whatever the hell Yuma looked at him with before, makes him feel uncomfortable, because he wants to touch Yuma but Yuma doesn’t want to touch him.   
  
And who could blame him? He’s a monster, one with a mineral for a heart, one with no mouth and with claws that could kill a bear, one with, well, no discernible gender as far as he could tell.   
  
And god, it pisses him off to no end because he just wanted to hold and kiss Yuma  _once_  and his entire miserable existence would have been more tolerable, but he lost out on that opportunity.   
  
(Being a Barian doesn’t prevent him from having feelings for Yuma because he still has a brain and everyone knows that’s where love really comes from.)  
  
(But he can’t deny to himself that the fluttering he used to feel in his heart when Yuma laughed or smiled or made a dumb joke or almost got him killed wasn’t a nice feeling sometimes.)  
  
(Maybe not the almost getting killed part, actually.)  
  
And he’s equally pissed because all the other Barians have a hard time maintaining their Barian forms in the human world except him and he can’t get back to his human form because Durbe’s useless and can’t figure out how to change him back (and maybe it isn’t Durbe’s fault but he needs someone to blame for his self-hatred and it may as well be Durbe).   
  
“Sh…ark?” He turns and sees Yuma leaning against the wall, looking at him, that same uncharacteristically hesitant look in his eyes as he bites his lip, and Shark is angry again because Yuma shouldn’t have to look at his friend with fear in his eyes.  
  
They’re standing on the school roof at sunset, something he liked to do by himself when he was human. He wants to console Yuma, and the urge to wrap him in his arms hits him stronger than ever. “What are you doing here?“ he says sharply, as if being rude will somehow help. It didn’t help during the WDC and only made Yuma want to be closer and he doesn’t know if it’s going to be the same thing here. He wants it to be.  _Don’t get involved with me_ was kind of his way of telling Yuma  _I really want to be your friend but I don’t want you to be hurt because I’m an idiot_ , after all.   
  
Yuma shrugs and looks at the ground, at the sky, at the school grounds, everywhere but at Shark.  _Nasch_ , he reminds himself,  _I’m Nasch, the Barian Emperor, not Shark._  “I just wanted to talk to you about something.”  
  
Shark contemplates opening a portal to the Barian World and just finding a quiet niche to hide in for the rest of his life so he isn’t forced to listen to Yuma trying to convince him that he’s still human, because that first talk where he told Yuma he was a Barian ended with Yuma in tears, and he can’t stand seeing Yuma cry. Instead he shrugs back and walks over to him.   
  
This can only end in heartbreak, he thinks to himself, and laughs a little because that’s a ludicrous thought for a monster with no heart to think.   
  
They stand in awkward silence for probably a solid minute before Yuma takes a really deep breath and looks up into Shark’s eyes. It’s the first time he managed to look Shark in the face since he got this form, and if his heart was a muscle instead of a chunk of corundum it would be jackhammering against his rib cage right now.   
  
“We… haven’t been friends for very long,” Yuma begins, and his eyes drift down to the gem on Shark’s chest. “But I care about you… more than I care about almost anyone else.“  
  
Yuma reaches up and touches the gem and Shark jerks back because  _what the hell was that_ , it feels a hundred times more personal than anything he’s ever felt. Yuma looks mortified and places a hand to his mouth. “I’m so sorry… did I hurt you?”  
  
Shark breathes heavily and shakes his head. “No… I… don’t know what that was.“  
  
But it wasn’t unpleasant so when Yuma tries to take a step back, he grabs him and pulls him close, pressing Yuma’s body to his own, wishing more than anything that he could kiss him, touch his face with his fingertips-  
  
-push him against the wall and give him lovebites all over his body as Yuma whispers his name-  
  
-but he can’t and he lets out a noise that sounds like a mix of longing and frustration and Yuma’s hands come up and touch his cheeks and suddenly Yuma’s lips are where his lips should be, and his eyes are open and squinting in puzzlement at Shark’s nose, as if he’s not sure what he’s doing.   
  
"I thought you needed to talk to me,” Shark manages as Yuma pauses, pressing his hands to the wall.  
  
Yuma smiles a little and shrugs. “Actions speak louder than words?"   
  
So Shark wraps his arms around Yuma as Yuma kisses him with tight, inexperienced lips, and he wants Yuma to touch his gem again because… it was really nice.  
  
And it’s like Yuma’s reading his mind because he pushes Shark against the wall and presses himself closer, hands sliding on his shoulders as he stands on his tiptoes, kissing his cheek and chin and neck and suddenly his fingers touch his gem again and Shark jerks his head back and whimpers-  
  
-because now he knows what that feeling is.  
  
And he feels useless as Yuma bites his neck and collarbones and keeps stroking his gem because he has nothing to give Yuma in return. He can’t kiss him, can’t really touch him because he’s afraid that he’ll hurt him with his claws, can’t come close to making love, even-  
  
he laughs a little again through his whimpers because they’re so young and Yuma is so innocent and he definitely shouldn’t be thinking about doing  _that_ with Yuma, but here he is   
  
-and all he can do is moan Yuma’s name as Yuma gives him everything he wanted to give Yuma.


End file.
